Road

This fall, November 8-10, 2019, Southern California cyclists will get the chance to ride with old three titles, himself, Peter Sagan as he brings his Sagan Fondo Gran Roadie-Oh to San Diego County.

The ride will feature a Friday Gala for Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and Outride Foundation, a Saturday Sagan Fondo Expo and VIP event and the Gran Roadie-Oh on Sunday with three different distances for riders to choose from (50 km, 100 km and 150 km), beginning at 7:00am. The unique routes take riders through the hills and valleys of beautiful North County San Diego. Sagan is opting for the longest 150-km/93-mile route. Both Saturday and Sunday’s festivities will take place at North City in San Marcos and benefit CAF.

For those who don’t know, this event is being produced by the same crew that created the world famously brutal Belgian Waffle Ride so you know it will be good, plus, Peto Sagan. Right? When was the last time you got to ride with a 3X World Champion? We’re guessing it’s been a while. So, click the link for all the details and get registered. It’s going to a be a great weekend in San Diego where you know the weather will be better than pretty much anywhere else in the world. Plus, there’s also this:

Brendan Quirk, the former President of Rapha North America, and co-founder of Competitive Cyclist (sold to Backcountry.com in 2011), has stepped in as the interim CEO of Allied Cycle Works, in Bentonville, Arkansas.

“Being a start-up is an uphill battle,” Quirk said. “But in the last few months, Allied has really broken through.”. . . He called out the recent launch of the Able gravel frameset – the bike ridden to victory in both the Men’s and Women’s races at the world’s most prestigious gravel event, the Dirty Kanza 200. . . “The success of the Able proves that our foundation is in place,” Quirk said, in reference to Allied’s U.S.-based frame production. “The market is responding, the momentum is tangible, and I’m excited to be part of the future here.”

As he should be. The bikes look right nice, indeed. Check them out here. For the official word from Allied, follow the jump.

Volvo and POC have teamed up for a series of crash tests between cars and cycling helmets for research on how to make cycling safer.

The Volvo-POC research project consists of a number of specially designed crash tests at the famous Volvo Cars safety research facilities in Gothenburg, Sweden and is part of a wider research project to understand the types of long-term injuries sustained by cyclists. . . During these tests, POC bike helmets are worn by crash dummy heads mounted on a testing rig, from where they are launched towards different areas of the hood of a static Volvo car, at different speeds and angles for various measurements.

Obviously, the easiest way to protect cyclists from cars is to remove cars from the road, but apparently, that’s not worth testing. For the official word from Volvo and POC, please follow the jump.

Peto Sagan began the 2019 Tour of California with a win in Sacramento and he finished with a second place in Pasadena. In between, he had a few close ones, wore a green jersey, lost the jersey, and nearly landed on the hood of our car on his way down Mt. Baldy following stage six. Here’s what Peto said at the end of stage seven and the end of the race:

“It was quite a chaotic stage, with so many attacks, counter attacks and moves in the peloton and the breakaways. All that action made it a tough one but in the end, the bunch entered the final lap of the circuit in Pasadena together for a fast sprint finish,” Sagan said. “I was well positioned in the finale but probably I reacted a bit late to Bol’s sprint. I think I can be satisfied with the performance we had here, both mine and of the team. We had a victory, two podium places and put in a great effort throughout the week.”

There’s much more to the 2019 Tour of California story than this, but you’ve likely gotten that info elsewhere. One thing to add: a cycling sage friend of our mentioned the one thing that could have gone differently for the Education First team (pictured above). “One of my favorite teams, but their first blunder was giving GC to Van Garderen instead of Uran, he said. “All downhill from there.” Indeed. Congrats to 20-year-old Tadej Pogačar. Nice work all week. . . especially on Baldy.

You’d think with all the GU we’ve sucked down over the years we’d have some sort of insight into what to buy when it’s time to load up on energy gels. Nope. When faced with buying a new box we’re totally confused by GUs 29 flavor mix. What was that one we liked? Can’t remember? Now, with the flavor wheel it almost makes sense. Want fruit, chocolate, sour fruit, salty, bitter? It’s all there on the chart and easy to read.

What are we ordering this time? If you must know, it’s Salted Watermelon, Strawberry Banana, and some Campfire S’mores. The only way GU could make this better would be to have a caffeine circle so we could remember which ones have it and how much. . . maybe next time. To order your next supply of GU, please click the link.

The 2019 Amgen Tour of California kicked off on Mother’s Day in downtown SacTown with an 88 mile spin up and down the Sacramento River and back to three laps around the Capital. It was a calm day, no valley crosswinds to mess with the peloton and when it was all over Peter Sagan threw his bike to edge Travis McCabe and nab his 17th TOC win. Mark Cavendish finished 109th.

“There is no doubt this is a very nice win, not just for me but for the entire team,” Sagan said. “Earlier today, Pascal Ackermann dominated the sprint at the Giro and now we doubled up with another strong effort here in California. . . I was focused, stayed in the front in the final stretch and timed my attack well. It’s a nice feeling to start with a win in one of my favourite races.”

Nick Cohenmeyer had his drones (and dogs @stevetheredpoodle) out all day capturing the madness that is The Belgian Waffle Ride — the most [insert a word] bicycle race in American. Held May 5, 2019 in beautiful North County San Diego, the race had riding on every type of surface, terrain, and temperature. And yes, this is what it looks like. For more info and how to sign up for next year, click the link.

It will take you almost as long to read the results as it took Peter Stetina to ride the 133 miles of the 2019 Belgian Waffle Ride held May 5, 2019 in the northern reaches of San Diego County, California. But go ahead, click the continue link and knock yourself out. Sidenote: if you’re looking for someone use search.[click to continue…]

The 2019 running of The Colorado Classic presented by VF Corp, the top women’s road race in North America will also reportedly be “the greenest pro cycling race in North America,” according to organizers. What does this mean exactly?

The race has been awarded “Certifiably Green” status by the City of Denver. No other bike race in the state of Colorado has received this designation and the Colorado Classic is the largest event in Colorado to receive this certification. The race has earned the designation through numerous initiatives that will take place at this year’s event.

Green is good, and it’s even better for marketing. For all the details on exactly how RPM Events Group is going to green up this race, please follow the jump.[click to continue…]

Eliel is inviting the cycling community to come together for the Breakfast Burrito Ride on Friday May 3, 2019 to help raise money for The Pablove Foundation.

Today, 46 families were told their child has cancer. When one child is diagnosed, an entire community is forever impacted. Join us for BBR on May 3rd to benefit The Pablove Foundation that strives to improve the lives of the children, families, and communities affected by pediatric cancer. . . Shifting gears, frothing cold brew’s, and the smell of bacon on a Friday morning; what more do you need to get excited about the Breakfast Burrito Ride? Roll out and enjoy some coastal miles of smiles with local cycling clubs and industry partners while fundraising for The Pablove Foundation.

The no-drop ride begins at Canyon Bicycles’ USA headquarters at 5600 Avenida Encinas, in Carlsbad, California at 8AM. If you’d like to purchase a BBR t-shirt, or want more info, please click the link.